Pokemon FireRed: Tales of Ritsu
by Killer of thy Cookies
Summary: In another classic Pokemon journey-esque story, 11-year-old Ritsu Tainaka is ready to follow in her father's footsteps to become the next Indigo League Champion. But does she have what it takes to overcome the challenges thrown in her path throughout her entire adventure? With evil organizations lurking and a not-so-friendly rival, her journey might be tougher than she'd thought.
1. The Awakening: Leaving Home

**After playing and reviving my love for Pokemon, I felt compelled to write another 'Pokemon adventure' kind of story, after a loooong hiatus from Fanfiction. I spent around two hours planning and writing down this first chapter. Have fun reading. **

**I don't own Pokemon, nor do I own Ritsu Tainaka. She's just my favorite character, from the anime K-On. **

* * *

"D-Damn..."

The young girl shielded her eyes as explosions bounced around the battlefield in front of her. She adjusted her white hat, a habit she'd gotten used to, as she eyed her opponent.

"What's wrong, Ritsu? Finished already?"

Her fists clenched. That familiar, taunting voice she hated.

The female Trainer dubbed Ritsu offered no reply, instead she yelled out a command. Her Pokemon unleashed a blast of energy, only to have it countered by an opposing attack.

As the smoke cleared, Ritsu got a closer look at the boy she was fighting it out with. Her childhood friend-turned-rival, Aki, throughout her journey, had always been one step in front of her.

She hated it... hated him. Her eyes swept around the stadium and the audience, all looking down at them with anticipation. This was her chance to finally close the gap between them, and she couldn't let it go. Not now.

Aki frowned. "Just give it up!"

As she heard him shout out orders to his Pokemon, Ritsu quickly gave her own as well. The two Pokemon clashed, resulting in another explosion, but this one would be the last one of the long battle.

"What an unbelievable display of skill and power!" The announcer screamed.

Ritsu squinted, barely making out the two Pokemon's figures in the clearing smoke.

That was the last attack. Both of them were down to their last Pokemon, and both of their final Pokemon were down to their final energies.

But there could only be one winner.

She knew that, and the question played on her mind. Had she won it? In the smoke, one of the shadows collapsed - another stood victorious.

A flashback of her Pokemon journey came to her - every event that'd happened, every Gym badge she'd obtained, all the friends and enemies she'd made. And it all came down to this.

"And the winner of this year's Indigo League is...!"

* * *

"..."

"I think it's time to shock her, Pika."

"Pika, Pika chu!"

Drowsily, the still half-asleep girl waved a dismissive hand as she sat up. "There's no need. I'm up, I'm up." She smiled at her mother and the Pokemon beside her. "Good morning, Mom and Pika."

"Ms Ritsu Tainaka," her mother started, in a stern tone. "You do remember what today is, right?"

The young girl nodded sleepily. "My 11th birthday."

"That was yesterday, silly."

"Pika chuu!"

"Eh?" Ritsu stared at her mother. She tried to remember. Oh yeah, there was a birthday party, wasn't there? "Right. Just remembered. What day is today, then? The day after my birthday, I suppose..."

"Yes, and-"

Suddenly, as she began to feel more awake, Ritsu remembered. She threw off the covers and jumped out of bed at the shocking realization. "Pokemon journey!"

Her mother chuckled. "Well, it seems you've remembered. Now, before you're late going around to Professor Oak's lab, you should take a shower."

She didn't need to be reminded twice. Ritsu dashed out of her room.

Mrs Tainaka, still laughing softly at her airhead of a daughter, started to make her bed and turned to the Pikachu beside her.

"This house is going to get awfully quiet soon, huh, Pika?"

Before Pika could even respond, Ritsu hurried back into the room, her long brown hair still considerably wet, and with a pink towel wrapped around her body.

Mrs Tainaka blinked. "That was quick."

"My clothes, Mom!" Ritsu said urgently. "I don't want to be late!"

"At the pace you're going, you are going to be very early, Ritsu dear," was the calm response. "They're in the bathroom. Did you miss them?"

Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Yeaaaah... I think I did. Be right back!"

And in a flash, she was gone again, only to return again in two minutes, decked out in her blue, sleeveless shirt and red skirt. Ritsu's attire was complete with her white hat, and her traveling gear stored in a moderately-sized sling bag.

Mrs Tainaka smiled. "I can't recall a time you were faster in getting ready for the morning."

"Weeell, I'm getting ready for a Pokemon journey today instead of school, after all."

"Don't think you're finished with your academics, young lady. I expect you to be reading the textbooks I packed in your bag. Even if you're on a journey, you must continue to improve yourself."

Ritsu groaned. "I won't have time for that, Mom."

"You'd better. A Pokemon Master is no Pokemon Master if he can't do Math."

"Who implanted that idea into your head?"

Mrs Tainaka had a fond grin on her face. "Your father was quite the mathematician, if I do say so myself."

At the mentioning of her father, Ritsu smiled too. She placed a hand on her bag. "I guess... since you've put it that way, I'll have to make some time for these books... even if I have no interest in them at all," she scowled.

Mother, daughter and Pikachu had a quick breakfast, with Ritsu practically chomping down everything like a Snorlax.

As soon as she'd finished, she rushed to pull on her socks and shoes.

"Can't wait to leave your mother behind, eh?"

Ritsu slipped her left foot into her shoe. "You know that's not the case, Mom. Besides, I'll be back to visit every now and then, you know!"

Mrs Tainaka shook her head. "I'd rather you didn't. It's going to be nice not fussing over you about anything for awhile."

"Aw, you know you like fussing over me, Mom," Ritsu winked, as she got back on her feet. She looked back at the place she would always call home. The living room, the decorations on the walls, her room. She would miss everything about this place. But outside of here, outside of Pallet Town, was where her true calling lied. Despite that, her eagerness calmed a bit as she realized she would be leaving the place she'd lived in for the past 11 years.

"Wait, Ritsu," her mother hurried over, Pika riding on her shoulder. "I've been thinking about this, and I think you should take Pika with you."

"Pika pi!"

"Eh?" Ritsu stared at Pika, and then at her mother. "But then you'll be all alone, won't you? I can't do that."

"I have plenty of friends in this town, Ritsu," was Mrs Tainaka's reassuring reply. "Besides, Pika wants to go with you too. Can't you see how excited he is?"

"Pikaaaa!" The yellow mouse jumped onto Ritsu's hat.

Ritsu grinned as her hand went up to pet the Pikachu.

Pika had been one of her best friends from childhood, caught by her father in the Viridian Forest and presented to her on her 3rd birthday. In all honesty, she had wanted to bring him along anyway. "If you're sure," Ritsu relented. "You ready for this, Pika?"

A firm "Pikaaa!" confirmed he was as excited as her.

Ritsu giggled at the clear excitement he was showing. A Pokeball was then pressed into her hands, and she looked at it in surprise. "What's this, Mom? Why're you giving me a Pokeball?"

Mrs Tainaka petted Pika. "This is Pika's Pokeball... obviously."

"Oh," came the sheepish reply.

"I think it's time for you to leave," her mother opened the door. Before Ritsu could walk out however, she was enveloped in a hug, one that she gladly returned. "Be careful out there, okay?"

"Of course, Mom."

"Don't forget to call back."

"Of course, Mom."

"Take care of yourself."

"Of course, Mom."

"And please, knock some common sense into this," Mrs Tainaka continued, playfully tapping the side of her head.

"Of cour- wait, what?" Ritsu broke the hug, scowling at her parent.

"Be on your way, now! Bye bye! Bye bye to you too, Pika!"

The budding Pokemon Trainer was soon shoo-ed out of her house. Ritsu gave her mother one last grin, before turning and running off.

"We're going to be the strongest in the world, aren't we, Pika?"

"Pika pii!" Pika said with enthusiasm, and then realized where they were heading. "Pika?"

Ritsu's run slowed into a jog, as she quickly gained sight of her destination. "Before I begin my journey, I want to go... there." Understanding, Pika nodded with a wide smile on his face.

The two entered the Pallet Town cemetery, and stopped at one of the graves.

The aspiring young child knelt down at that particular spot, and read the tombstone in front of her carefully, like she always did.

How long had it been, she wondered. Probably around six years. Six years since he'd been taken from her family. _  
_

What had been the cause again? Right, they'd never revealed it to her. All she knew was that he had gone missing on her 5th birthday, and a few months after that, found in the caves of the Seafoam Islands, frozen to death, with all the Pokemon he'd been carrying with him gone, stripped from his belt.

Ritsu shuddered, a single tear slowly going down her eye as she stared hard and long at the tombstone.

"Satoshi Tainaka, 1st Inaugural Indigo League Champion. Dad," she said slowly. On her hat, Pika remained silent. "I'll be going on my journey now. I'm going to follow in your footsteps... winning against every Gym Leader in Kanto... becoming the Champion... I hope I make you proud."

The wind blew around her, and she paused. She disliked the fact that every single time she visited, she would get emotional.

"So... that's what's going to happen. I want you to know I can't visit for awhile. But don't worry. I'll be back."

Ritsu stopped again, but continued speaking, saying what would be her final words to this particular tombstone for at least a few months.

"Please take good care of Mom, okay? Goodbye."

And with that, she turned and left.

It was finally time for her journey to begin.

Pika descended from her hat onto her shoulder as she looked up into the beautiful morning sky.

_Are you watching, Dad? _

With a satisfied feeling in her stomach, Ritsu walked on to Professor Oak's laboratory, and once she was out of there, and out of Pallet Town, it would be akin to taking a step closer to her dream of becoming the Indigo League Champion.

* * *

**And that will be that. I'll definitely be continuing this since I had pretty much a lot of fun writing the first chapter already.**

**See you guys later. **


	2. The Beginning: Oak's Request

**Thanks for all the favorites and follows so far. I really appreciate it. Thanks for the review as well. Feedback is always welcomed :)**

**In Chapter 2, Ritsu gets her official starter from Professor Oak, and her 'rival' is introduced. **

* * *

Ritsu burst into the laboratory, startling the few lab assistants inside.

"Prof! I'm here!"

She came face to face with a spiky-haired boy, and frowned.

Professor Oak was a kind old man and a nice person in general. However, his grandson, Aki Oak, was completely different. Sometimes, Ritsu wondered if Aki was really the grandson of the famous professor.

The two had been childhood playmates since their families had been close, with Satoshi Tainaka frequently helping the Professor with his research on Pokemon. But as he grew up, Aki began to grow more cold and distant - to a point where Ritsu didn't even know him anymore.

Aki smirked, but offered no words. However, his expression was clearly mocking her for being the slower of the two.

Ritsu glared at him. Something like this was already common between them - exchanging looks of hatred and silently cursing the other, yet, they never spoke. She mentally sighed, wondering how her relationship with her former best friend had deteriorated to such a point.

Turning to one of the lab assistants, she asked her question. "Where's the Prof?"

Aki cut in abruptly. "In the fields. He's tending to the Pokemon."

For a split second, she was shocked that Aki had actually spoken, but regained her composure quickly. It was just Aki. She didn't care if he spoke or not. "Looks like we're going to be waiting for awhile, Pika."

The Pikachu on her shoulder nodded in disappointment.

Soon after, Professor Oak came bustling in. "Hello, Ritsu, Aki! It's been a busy morning. I'm glad to see you two are here. Oh, and Pika too."

"Morning, Prof!" Ritsu replied cheerfully, happy to see her grandfather figure.

"Pikaaa pi!"

Oak grinned. "Firstly, I want to congratulate the both of you on finally earning your Pokemon Licenses and starting your journeys with Pokemon. I know your goals are the same, to challenge the eight Gyms in Kanto and to compete in the Indigo League. I wish you luck in your quests."

"Get on with it, Gramps. I want to leave as soon as possible," Aki said impatiently, tapping his foot.

"Ever the impatient boy, Aki," replied the Professor calmly.

Ritsu snorted. Sometimes, she wondered how the gentlemanly Professor Oak put up with such a terrible, problematic grandchild.

Aki frowned. "Get on with it," he repeated.

Completely ignoring the rudeness that had been shown to him, Oak gestured to three Pokeballs behind him, on his desk. "As you all know, you can't start your Pokemon journeys without Pokemon. So I'm going to gift each of you one of these... although I see that you both already have Pokemon."

"Oh yeah," Ritsu smiled, looking towards Pika. "I'll be bringing Pika along. He's been staying with us here in Pallet Town for years, so Mom thinks it's time to bring him around outside again."

"I see. That's just as well. He's the last Pokemon your father caught before his... untimely demise," Oak cleared his throat awkwardly. "So I see it as a very appropriate Pokemon to start with for your journey, too. And you, Aki?"

Aki flashed a Pokeball, and Ritsu took close interest. "Right here. Daisy said I could bring it along."

"Hm..." Oak scratched his chin. "It seems that you both have Pokemon already. Well, no matter. I'll still give each of you one of these three." He stepped aside, presenting the three Pokeballs in a dramatic fashion.

Ritsu stared at them. "Oooh, what's inside?"

"This," the old Professor raised one of the balls. "It contains the Grass-type Pokemon, Bulbasaur." He placed it down carefully, before holding up the second Pokeball. "And here is the Fire-type Charmander. Residing in the last Pokeball is the Water-type Pokemon, Squirtle. Take your pick!"

"Okay," Ritsu shrugged. She didn't have a particular preference. Her hand moved over, and picked up one of the Pokeballs randomly. At the same time, Aki took his pick too. "Come on out!"

They released their new Pokemon together.

"Char!"

Ritsu gasped. "So cute!"

Her new Charmander jumped into her arms with a squeal of delight, quickly taking a shine to what would be his new Trainer.

Aki spared Ritsu and her new Charmander a glance, before turning to his own Pokemon. "The Water-type Squirtle, huh..." He nodded at the Tiny Turtle Pokemon, before quickly recalling it back to the Pokeball. "We're done here then. Can we go?"

His question was not answered, as he heard the girl beside her exclaim.

"I think I'll name you Toto!"

Professor Oak laughed, as Aki looked away with distaste.

_Nicknames are stupid. _

The newly-dubbed Toto returned to his Pokeball, and Professor Oak nodded quickly. "I think you are both quite ready to set out now. The last thing I want to ask of the both of you, is a simple request."

He produced two red devices. Aki took one, and instinctively, Ritsu grabbed the other.

"What's this, Prof?"

She flipped it open, and the device, indirectly pointed at Pika on her shoulder, lit up.

"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon," a robotic voice beeped out. "An Electric-type who stores electric charges in the small sacs on it's cheeks. When several of these Pokemon gather, their generated power can produce lightning storms."

"Woah! It speaks!"

Pika regarded the device with awe. "Pika pi!"

"It read Pika like a book, too!"

Professor Oak cleared his throat awkwardly, in an attempt to find an opportunity to speak.

"As I was saying... this device is a PokeDex. Every time you point the PokeDex at a certain Pokemon, the PokeDex will explain to you everything about that Pokemon, it's abilities, skills, levels and everything else you need to know. It's a Pokemon encyclopedia!"

Ritsu shut the PokeDex, and flipped it open again. She then shut it close again, only to open it once more and repeating the process. "Wow, it's pretty cool," she remarked. "Thanks for the gift!"

"It's not a gift," Oak replied, as he thought for awhile. "Well, maybe it is. But what I really need now is for someone to complete this encyclopedia. You see, the PokeDex only records Pokemon that it has seen. I'm cooped up in this lab, so I can't really go out there looking for Pokemon to add in. But the both of you can."

Switching the PokeDex on again, Ritsu scanned through it, and only found a single Pikachu in the device's records. "Ah, you're right." She pocketed it, giving the Professor a thumbs-up. "You can count on me!"

Aki stared at his own PokeDex. "I guess this could be useful," he said nonchalantly. "Fine. I will help as well."

"Great! Now it's time to go," he walked to the door and opened it. A breath of fresh air blew into the laboratory, and Ritsu grinned. Oh, how she would miss the clean air of Pallet Town.

She walked forward and wrapped the Professor in a quick hug. "I'll miss you, Prof! I'll return to visit soon, hopefully."

"As will I, Ritsu. As will I," he replied with a small smile. "And of course, you too, Aki."

"Hmph," the aloof boy grunted in response, not really giving his grandfather an acknowledgement, and he was rewarded with a hateful look that Ritsu threw towards him.

"Hopefully the next time we meet again, you will both have become very strong Trainers. I believe in you two." He patted them on the shoulders.

"Yeah! I'll totally amaze you with the strong Pokemon I'm gonna catch," Ritsu proclaimed confidently. "And I'm going to make my father proud."

It was going to be a long day and he would be working relentlessly, but Professor Oak could not help but brighten up at the optimism of Satoshi's daughter, and how striking the resemblance was in so many ways.

"Maybe he already is, Ritsu."

Pika echoed the Professor's words, in his own little language. "Pikaaachuuu!"

"Hehe. Ya think?" She giggled, turning to the side while trying to act modest. And thus, she discovered that Aki was long gone, already far off in the distance and sprinting towards Route 1. "That was quick."

Oak sighed. "He's an impatient child..."

"I pity you sometimes, Prof," Ritsu shook her head, as she glanced at Aki's direction as he slowly fleeted out of sight. "For having such an annoying, childish, rude, stupid-"

The old man interrupted with a small chuckle. "I know how you feel about Aki, but shouldn't you be departing now too? At this rate, he's going to get a head start in challenging those Gyms, you know!"

She jumped up in shock, with Pika almost falling off from her shoulder. "That's right! Sorry Prof! Gotta run!"

And Ritsu sped off, leaving behind a highly amused Professor, and her hometown of Pallet.

* * *

"Aw, he's gone already."

"Pika, pika pi!"

"What? Of course being ahead matters, Pika!" Ritsu said firmly. "Well, I'll show him! He can race forward for all I care! But when the time comes, I'm going to kick his ass!"

"Pikaaaa..."

"Tch!" She looked away. "I'm not being fueled by that or anything. My sole purpose for coming out here is to emulate Dad and become a strong Trainer. I'm just saying it would be nice to kick that guy's ass along the way, or something like that."

"Pikaa," Pika shrugged.

"Oh yeah! We have a new family member, don't we?" With a broad grin, the Trainer released her newest Pokemon. Toto the Charmander jumped into Ritsu's arms as soon as he emerged from his Pokeball. "Ehehe, he's really affectionate!"

"Charmaaan!"

"Pikaaaa."

"What, Pika? Jealous?"

Pika rolled his eyes. "Pikachuu!"

She released Toto to allow him to move freely, although the Charmander seemed more comfortable in his Trainer's arms.

"Oh, and we'd better do this..."

Ritsu fished out her PokeDex, and pointed it at Toto, eagerly anticipating what was about to come on the screen.

"Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. This Fire-type Pokemon has a flame that burns on the tip of it's tail. When it rains, steam is said to spout from it. It is said that the larger the flame on it's tail gets, the stronger it grows."

"Coool!"

Toto looked at the PokeDex curiously. "Chaar!"

"Anyway..." Ritsu looked up, at a sign announcing their exit from Pallet and entrance into Route 1. She looked back at the lush greenery of Pallet Town, before taking a deep breath and venturing into the route. "For now, our target is to reach Viridian City."

* * *

**Whew, and another chapter done. **

**The flame on Charmander's tail does not actually increase in proportion to it's strength. I borrowed that concept from the Pokemon anime, when the flame on Ash's Charmander's tail grew larger as it used Rage to gain enough power for battling against a Primeape. **

**If it hasn't been noticed yet, this story won't really stick to a particular 'world'. It's of course based on Pokemon FireRed, but there are many ideas that will be 'borrowed' from the anime and manga, such as a talking PokeDex.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Out of Pallet: Viridian City

**Thanks for all the reviews and feedback! Here's another chapter. Hopefully I can continue this for a long time. From this chapter onwards, I will be displaying _Ritsu's Party _before the start of every chapter. I won't list any moves, as the story will follow the anime along the 'unlimited number of moves' line and won't be restricted to only 4. **

**Previously, a new Charmander is added to Ritsu's team, and she finally sets out on her adventure, starting with Route 1.**

**_Ritsu's Party_  
Pika, Pikachu - Level 25  
Toto, Charmander - Level 5**

* * *

"Pika, Thunder Wave!"

"Pikaaaa!"

The wild Rattata jumped back as it was hit by a small wave of electricity.

"Okay, now, Toto! Hit it with a Scratch!"

Toto charged in. The Rattata attempted to escape, but was forced to be a sitting duck for the oncoming attack due to Pika's earlier Thunder Wave. However, the Mouse Pokemon countered with a powerful Tackle.

"Woah," Ritsu gasped, as Toto was thrown back violently by the sheer power of Rattata's Tackle. Her eyes were glued to the PokeDex. "Rattata has an ability called Guts, which increases it's physical power every time it's hindered by a status effect. Thunder Wave was a mistake, it seems..."

She beckoned for Toto to return to her side, before nodding to Pika.

The Pikachu leaped into the air, as the electric power he had been storing started to generate. "Pikaaaachuuuuu!"

A blast of electricity was unleashed, roasting the poor Rattata.

"Nice ThunderShock, Pika!" Ritsu cheered, hi-fiving her Pokemon as he landed on the ground. "If we can't beat an opponent physically, we'll just have to do it from afar."

The wild Rattata slumped to the ground, defeated.

Ritsu grinned, fumbling around in her sling bag. "Alright, now time for my first capture- whaaaat?" She frowned, as she peered inside her inventory. "Oh... right. I don't have any Pokeballs."

The Rattata picked itself up. Fighting against the paralysis, it scurried away in an awkward fashion.

"Pikaa pi!" Pika cried out, but Ritsu shook her head with a sigh.

"We'll have to get to Viridian City and stock up on Pokeballs before we attempt to catch any Pokemon," she checked the wallet she had brought along. "I hope Mom gave me enough of an allowance..."

Powered by the thought of buying Pokeballs, Ritsu trudged on through the tall grass, Pika and Toto riding on her hat and left shoulder respectively.

"You know... I hear Viridian City has a Gym," she said excitedly.

"Chaaaar?"

"What a Gym is?" She thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know how to describe it exactly, Toto. But it's basically this place where you can fight a really strong person to get even stronger!"

"Cha?" Toto was clearly clueless.

"Pikaa, pikaa chu!" Pika explained. Toto seemed to get it this time, nodding slowly. "Pika, Pika chu," the Pikachu continued as he looked down from his position on Ritsu's hat.

"What? My explanation was bad? Whatever," the girl retorted. "I'm not good at phrasing stuff."

She walked on peacefully with her two Pokemon.

"Hey, look, a fruit tree!"

Ritsu pointed up at a particular tall tree that had apples hanging from it.

"Char!"

"Hehe, you want some too, don't you, Toto?"

Toto gave a positive reply, and so did Pika.

The two Pokemon, using their Trainer's hat as a platform, leaped onto one of the tree's branches, and scurried up from there. Ritsu took off her hat, running a hand through her brown hair and mumbling an ouch. Allowing Pokemon to jump on your head wasn't a good idea.

"Charmaaan!"

She looked up at the sound of Toto's call.

Amusingly, her Charmander was wrestling with a wild Pidgey over an apple. The bird Pokemon had had it's eye on the delicious fruit too.

But it quickly turned ugly, as Toto dished out a hard Scratch attack on the Pidgey, before jumping off the tree with a satisfied smirk, and into Ritsu's waiting arms.

The Pidgey, enraged, flew towards Toto and Ritsu, intent on seeking revenge. Pika charged up electricity, ready to knock down the wild Pokemon in mid-air, but it was quickly taken care of.

Toto opened his mouth, sniping down the Pidgey with a small flame.

With a victorious look on his face, he bit into his apple.

"That was Ember!" Ritsu noted, looking at her PokeDex. "Nice job, Toto! Although it was kinda rude attacking that Pidgey and all, you know? I feel a little bad for it now."

Toto grinned sheepishly and waved his tail with an expression that stated he had no regrets about screwing the Pidgey over.

Pika performed an athletic dive from the tree branches onto Ritsu's hat, and reached down to offer an apple to her mouth. "Pikaa!"

She took a bite. "Daaamn, I had no idea apples that grow from trees taste this good."

"Pikaaa...?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know all apples grow from trees! I was just emphasizing on how good this apple is. Stop trying to make smart remarks, you hear me?"

Pika shrugged, taking a small bite of the apple. "Pika!" Yep, it was good alright.

* * *

"Here we are," Ritsu gestured. "Viridian City!"

Viridian, a place she was familiar with, yet never frequented. Due to the inconvenience of having to go through Route 1 to access the city from Pallet Town, Ritsu had only been to Viridian two or three times under the protection of Pika, usually on errands for Professor Oak or her mother.

She headed straight for the city's PokeMart, admiring the beautiful greenery of Viridian along the way.

Toto breathed in deeply.

"The air here in Viridian is pretty fresh, huh?" Ritsu grinned. "Finally! There's the PokeMart."

She walked over, and into the PokeMart. It wasn't exactly bustling with activity, but then again, Viridian was a quiet city.

One of the store clerks walked around the mart, looking terribly bored. However, upon seeing Ritsu and her Pokemon, he appeared startled, before clearing his throat and speaking in an official tone.

"Apologies, but Pokemon are not allowed to roam freely in here."

Hastily, Ritsu reached for her Pokeballs, returning Pika and Toto to them. "Sorry."

The clerk nodded and walked away, his bored expression returning to his face.

Ritsu took off her hat and tucked it neatly into her bag as she browsed the mart.

_Five Pokeballs and three Potions... that'll be... uhm..._

She checked her small purse.

_Well, screw the Math. I have 2000 PokeDollars. That should be enough._

Too lazy to use the provided baskets, Ritsu gathered the items into her arms with considerable effort, and walked to the counter. "I would like to buy these, please."

The woman behind the counter snored loudly in response.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow, half-tempted to make a break for it. Running the risk of becoming a criminal just hours after leaving on her own Pokemon journey wasn't a risk she was willing to take, though.

But how exactly was she supposed to wake somebody who seemed to be sleeping so peacefully?

Upon noticing Ritsu's predicament, the clerk that had been wandering aimlessly around the Mart rushed over, shrieking at the counter-manning lady without a care.

She yawned, but quickly straightened up at the sight of a customer. "S-Sorry about that."

"Uhm, yeah, no problem. I would just like to buy these, please."

"Of course, that'll be 1,900 PokeDollars."

_What?_ Ritsu looked at her purse again as she dug out the money. _That means I only have 100 left. Crap. _

She'd heard about how Trainers had to win battles against other Trainers to earn money. _Guess I'll have to do that if I don't want to be broke throughout this entire journey... _

Placing the money on the counter, Ritsu collected her purchases, storing them in her bag. Walking out of the Mart and placing her hat back on, she released Pika.

"Okay, Pika, listen up."

Pika looked curiously at his Trainer. "Pika?"

"To tell you the truth, I just realized..." Ritsu opened her purse for demonstration, with a single 100 PokeDollar note lying inside. "... that Mom didn't really give me much of an allowance. Unless we battle and win against other Trainers in Pokemon battles, we are going to be broke for the rest of this journey."

"Pikaaachu," Pika punched the air. "Pika!"

Ritsu smiled. "Eheh, you read my mind, Pika! We have to start training hard, and from here on out, win every battle we fight!" Zipping open her bag, she reached inside, looking for a map.

Then it hit her.

She didn't have a map.

Pika looked on, sensing something was wrong. "Pika pi?"

"Ha, of course there's nothing wrong, Pika," Ritsu tried to sound convincing. She had ever only been in Pallet Town and Viridian City. How would she navigate beyond Viridian without a map?

_Well, it's nothing. I will just have to find a map. For now I have to focus on the matter at hand. _

"Route 22 is west of here and it has plenty of wild Pokemon. It's perfect for training!" She knelt down, allowing Pika to jump onto her shoulder. "What do you think?"

"Chuu!" Pika nodded his approval.

Ritsu sprinted for the west exit of the city, and eventually came to it, passing a sign that informed her that she was heading into Route 22 and the Indigo League entrance, that lied beyond the route.

Soon, she was going to be back here, with eight Gym badges and strong enough skill to take on the world. But for now the only things she could take on were the wild Pokemon in the area.

"Pikaaa!"

Pika pointed into the grass, and Ritsu squinted, barely making out the form of a purple rat. "It's another Rattata! C'mon, Pika, let's go!"

She rushed towards the wild Pokemon, as Pika jumped off her shoulder with a loud battle cry.

"Use ThunderShock!"

"Squirtle, Water Gun!"

Before Pika could release his charged electricity, a powerful blast of water came crashing onto the Rattata. No time was wasted, as a Pokeball was swiftly thrown. It hit the wild Rattata in the chest, sucking it in with a red glow.

The Pokeball shook for two seconds, but quickly came to a stop. The Rattata's new owner came into sight, and accompanied by his Squirtle, walked forward to collect the ball.

Ritsu looked up, and saw a familiar face. She frowned.

The spiky-haired boy had a frown on his face as well, and they both uttered the same word.

"You...!"

* * *

**Done with another chapter, finally. Not much action going on here, just wanted to give our main heroine some incentive to train and win battles. In the next chapter, we get our first rival battle of the series! Stay tuned. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Rival Battle: Speedy Eevee

**I just finished the Pokemon: The Origin anime (a little late, I know) and it's brilliant. A little bit unrealistic, sure, but then again, Pokemon has never been realistic. Did you guys watch it? Is it better than the original Pokemon anime?**

**Previously, Ritsu and her party make their way to the first city of their journey, Viridian City! After realizing she's broke, our heroine decides to start training with her Pokemon in preparation for Pokemon battles against other Trainers. Heading to Route 22, she runs into someone familiar. **

_**Ritsu's Party  
**_**Pika, Pikachu - Level 26  
****Toto, Charmander - Level 6**

* * *

"You...!"

Ritsu glared at her rival, Aki. Wait, rival? When did she start thinking of him as a rival? Well, in a way they were rivals, since they both had the same goals and targets.

An unfriendly smile grew on Aki's face as he recalled Squirtle. "Good evening, Ri-chan."

Ritsu froze. How long had it been since he'd called her that? Her face turned red and she growled at him. "Don't call me Ri-chan, you stupid idiot."

"Whatever you say, Ri-chan."

Ritsu raised her fist, ready to punch the boy.

"Anyway," he continued. "It was nice to see you." The tone of his voice stated clearly that he'd told a lie. "But I have to be going now. I've got more Pokemon to catch."

Aki walked past her coolly, his hands digging into his pockets.

Angered, Ritsu called after him. "Walking away, ignoring me... that's all you're ever gonna do, huh, Aki?"

Aki stopped, tilting his head back slightly with a simple explanation. "I'm busy."

"You just can't be bothered with me, can you? You're always ignoring my existence, ever since we grew up... and that seriously pisses me off!"

"Whatever."

A Pokeball was pointed straight at his face. "This is something I've been waiting to do. I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!"

"What?" The spiky-haired boy backed away, but then sighed and nodded, his eyes gaining a determined look. "Fine. I accept. The person whose Pokemon is knocked out first loses, and you can switch between two Pokemon any time. How's that?"

"Fine by me," Ritsu threw her Pokeball into the air. She wasn't sure herself why she'd gotten so annoyed that she felt compelled to lash out at Aki, but this gave her an opportunity to do something she'd dreamt of accomplishing for years. Defeating Aki Oak in a fair and square Pokemon battle.

At the same time, her opponent threw a Pokeball. Both capsules opened in mid-air.

"I'm counting on you, Toto!"

"Rattata, go!"

Ritsu's Charmander and the Rattata appeared, ready for battle.

"Toto, hit it first with a Scratch attack!"

"Quick Attack."

Rattata zipped at Toto before he could do a thing. The Mouse Pokemon rammed his small body onto the Charmander.

"And while you're at it, Hyper Fang."

"... Turn around!"

Toto recovered quickly, and quickly turned his back to the Rattata leaping towards him. The flame on the tip of his tail awaited.

"Rattata, back off!"

Doing a perfect somersault in mid-air, Rattata landed safely on the ground, and stepped back.

"Whew," Ritsu muttered, adjusting her hat as she looked at Aki's Rattata. It looked incredibly well-trained, unlike the wild Rattatas that she'd encountered so far. Their Pokemon journeys had both only lasted a day, but Aki had already caught and trained his Pokemon well.

_But, _she thought, her gaze going from Rattata to Aki. _That isn't going to deter me! _

"Once more, Quick Attack!"

"Stop it with a Growl!"

Rattata rushed forward, quicker than a lightning bolt, but just as it was about to strike, Toto let out a cute squeal.

Taken aback by the move, Rattata stopped. A smirk on his face, Toto proceeded to fire a close-range Ember in his face.

Aki watched silently as his Rattata took the full brunt of Toto's Ember. The purple rat Pokemon backed away with his skin gaining new patches of charred black and burn wounds. "Hm, that's it, eh?"

"Just one more hit will do the trick!" Ritsu cried excitedly. "C'mon Toto, let's win this-"

"Rest for now, Rattata," Aki recalled his burnt Pokemon, switching it out with another. "Your turn. Eevee!"

A brown, furry Pokemon emerged from Aki's Pokeball. Ritsu stared at the Eevee. "Hey... I know this Pokemon..."

"You should. It's my sister's."

Ritsu remembered. "Ah... Daisy's..." _Yeah, I've seen this little guy once or twice. What's it doing here with Aki? _

She consulted her PokeDex.

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. The Normal-type Eevee is a rare Pokemon with a unique genetic makeup, allowing it the possibility to evolve into different forms based on element stone radiations."

"Different forms," Ritsu gasped, as she looked into Eevee's moveset. "So this Eevee can use Quick Attack, Sand Attack... and..."

"Eevee, Sand Attack!"

She looked up from her PokeDex to see sand from the ground being kicked up into Toto's eyes. He let out a yelp of surprise, and started rubbing his eyes to clear them of the sand.

"Hey! It's no fair attacking a Pokemon when his Trainer isn't ready!"

Aki smirked. "It's your fault for spacing out in the middle of a Pokemon battle." He nodded at his Eevee. "Now, while that Charmander is distracted, use Return!"

Ritsu stared at Eevee. "Return? What's tha-"

Her question was quickly answered as Eevee charged right at Toto's lower body, tripping him up. The Lizard Pokemon fell right on Eevee's furry back, who promptly proceeded to tossing him into the air effortlessly.

"Return. A physical move, with it's power increasing in proportion to the user's friendship and loyalty with it's Trainer. Plus, it's a Normal-type move, so Eevee gets a same type attack bonus."

"I don't need you to start going lecturer on me," his opponent snapped. "Toto, are you okay?"

"One more attack and it's finished," Aki said confidently. "Eevee!"

But he could not give a command, as Ritsu withdrew her Charmander. "I'm not going to be defeated that easily! Pika!" Her next Pokemon, Pika, came out of his Pokeball.

_You know how much I want to win against this guy, Pika. Do it for me. _

"Eevee, one more Return."

Ritsu braced herself as Eevee started his charge.

Her rival looked at her carefully. _She's not giving any commands... is she content with allowing her Pikachu to be a sitting duck? What kind of strategy... _He checked his own PokeDex, looking up Pika's moveset. _Doesn't seem to have any moves concerning a sitting-duck strategy... wait! _

He remembered the events that had unfolded in the battle between Toto and his Rattata.

As Eevee got close, Ritsu finally ordered her Pika to unleash his attack. "Now! Thunderbolt!"

"Sand Attack!"

Eevee came to a braking stop, turning on his heel and quickly kicking sand towards Pika as he fired a strong Thunderbolt. The large amount of sand collided with the electricity, serving to shield Eevee from some of it's damage.

But the majority of it still struck, shocking Eevee and throwing him violently to the ground.

"Strike while he's down! ThunderShock!"

Another blast of electricity was directed at the fallen Eevee, but he quickly picked himself up and jumped away, avoiding the attack.

"Quick Attack!"

"Give him a taste of another Thunderbolt!"

Unfortunately, as Ritsu quickly discovered, Eevee's speed was superior to the Rattata that Toto had finished off earlier. Dodging the Thunderbolt with his incredible speed, Eevee quickly slammed himself into Pika.

"Iron Tail!"

His tail turning into hard iron, Eevee turned, and his tail smashed into Pika's face.

"Chuu!" Pika groaned, as it fell onto the ground. However, he got back up again just as quickly, albeit with difficulty. The red sacs on his cheeks began to spark softly.

Aki regarded Ritsu with a look that said he was about to claim his victory. "Your Pikachu is strong, but just firing Electric-type moves one after another won't cut it. After getting hit by your first attack, Eevee has learnt that he has to use his speed to his advantage."

Ritsu glanced at Pika. The two gave a quick nod to each other, and she looked back at Aki. "What does that mean?"

"Your two attacks, ThunderShock and Thunderbolt, both need precise aiming. Eevee, the fastest Pokemon on my team, is the worst match-up possible for Pikachu."

"Got all the answers, don't you?"

"Most of them, at least," Aki replied matter-of-factly. "This battle is mine to win."

Ritsu looked at Pika again, and smirked. "Yeah? Pika, now! Quick Attack!"

The suddenness rendered Eevee unable to react as Pika tackled his face.

"Now! Release all that charged-up energy!"

Aki's eyes widened. "What?"

"Thunderbolt!"

A bright yellow color washed over Pika, and Eevee shrieked in pain as he was shocked with more power than before.

"What happened? That Pikachu couldn't have charged up his Thunderbolt so quickly..."

"Correct," Ritsu confirmed, unable to wipe off the smirk on her face. "But what if Pika charged that electricity before attacking?"

Her former friend looked up at her with a questioning frown. "So... you kept me talking, just to buy your Pikachu time to charge and store that electricity, before striking unexpectedly."

"Weren't you blabbering earlier about something like not spacing out during a battle?" Ritsu reminded him tauntingly. "You shouldn't get too cocky as well, not before a battle is properly decided!"

Gritting his teeth, Aki yelled at his Pokemon. "Eevee! Move!" But the injured Normal-type could only look helplessly back at his Trainer. "What? Don't tell me... paralysis?"

"Pika! Slam!" At the words, Pika swung his tail wildly. It made violent contact with Eevee's body, knocking him to the side.

Aki cursed as he called for his Eevee, but there was no response. His Pokemon was well and truly knocked out. He had lost.

Recalling Eevee to his Pokeball, he looked at Ritsu as she celebrated with Pika, picking up the yellow mouse and waving it around in the air. "Hmph," he grunted, throwing 1,000 PokeDollars at her feet, before turning and walking away in the direction of Viridian.

"Yeah, go on, run. I'm the better Trainer, and I'll keep proving it! Today, tomorrow and forever!" The taunting accomplished it's purpose - to further irritate him, and he clenched one of his fists.

_Next time, _he stared hard at the Pokeball containing his unconscious Eevee.

_Next time, I'm not going to lose. _

* * *

**I tried to make that battle as long as possible. Hopefully it didn't bore you and you liked the first battle scene of the story. In the next chapter, Ritsu spends her first night outside of home at Viridian, before heading into the Viridian Forest. Stay tuned. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Leaving Viridian: Onward to Pewter!

**Hello again!**

**Previously, Ritsu defeated her longtime rival Aki with the help of Pika and Toto in a Pokemon battle, solving her monetary issues for the time being. **

_**Ritsu's Party **_**  
****Pika, Pikachu - Level 26  
Toto, Charmander - Level 7**

* * *

"Alright! 1,000!" Ritsu grinned, showing her two Pokemon the 1,000 PokeDollar note in her hands. "With this, we won't have to sleep outside tonight." She jabbed a finger towards one of the only inns in the city.

"Char!" Toto cheered enthusiastically.

"But first, I'm gonna have to call home," his Trainer looked around. "Let's see... the Pokemon Center... ah, there it is. Let's go, guys."

Her two Pokemon riding on her two shoulders, Ritsu entered the Pokemon Center, and headed for the public phones. Dialing her home number, she waited, until the familiar face of her mother showed up on the screen.

"Hello, Ritsu!"

Ritsu smiled widely. "Mom! I beat Aki in a Pokemon battle!"

"That's nice, but it's already 11pm. Your curfew, young lady."

She frowned. "Whaaaat? I'm already on my Pokemon journey, Mom, and you're still harping about curfews?"

"A cute girl like you roaming the streets at night will only attract unneeded attention."

Ritsu winked. "Ahaha, but of course. I am cute, after all. Anyway, I've got my Pokemon to protect me, so I'm going to be just fine."

"Still, girls need to sleep early or their breasts won't grow."

"What?" The young Trainer gasped and looked down, sizing herself up. On her shoulder, Pika sighed at the ridiculousness of the situation. "That's not true, is it...?"

"But it is, young lady."

Pika shook his head adamantly, but Ritsu couldn't see it. "Right, I'll go straight to sleep after this then!" Her mother's eyes glinted victoriously, and Pika face-pawed. "How're things at home?"

"Things are great. I had Professor Oak over for tea and he says he's expecting big things from you. He has confidence that you're going to make it to the Indigo League this year!"

Ritsu punched the air. "Of course I am going to! Prof is right to have confidence in me. With my Pokemon, I'm going to become the strongest in the world! Better than that stupid Aki at least, anyway."

Her mom chuckled. "I know you're really excited about all these things, but it's late and you're in the public. Keep your voice down!"

She looked around, and could see one or two strangers staring at her with disdain. "Ah... um, right. Sorry."

"Anyway, I'll cut the call now. Good night. Sleep early! Love you."

"Yeaaah, love you, Mom," Ritsu did a small wave, and hung up.

She turned to Pika and Toto, who looked back at her curiously.

"Alright, you heard what Mom said! Let's head to the inn! We're sleeping early tonight."

* * *

"Pikaaachu."

"Still sleepy, Pika? Here, imma get this..."

Ritsu studied the vending machine up and down, and found what she wanted. Pika and Toto looked at their Trainer curiously as she inserted a dollar note and pressed a few buttons. Miraculously, a can of strange-looking liquid appeared.

Popping it open, she offered it to Pika. "Drink up!"

Struggling to hold the can in his small paws, Pika took a sip of the drink, and spat it out in disgust. "Pika?!"

"Hm?" Ritsu looked at the can of coffee she'd gotten. "Oh. This is the bitter one. Oops." Shrugging, she took a big gulp of the coffee. Her face turned as blue as a Water Pokemon. "Eeewww!"

She walked past the innkeeper, and politely nodded to him before walking out of the place she'd spent the night before.

"That was a good night's sleep, huh, guys?" Ritsu stretched as she took in a breath of the fresh Viridian air. "Unfortunately..." she pulled out her purse. "... we're broke again."

As she walked on the grassy path, the young girl attempted to think of solutions that could fix her constant money-needing problems.

"Chaaar!"

She was pulled out of her daydreaming as Toto cried out, pointing to the building beside her. Ritsu turned, and gasped. The Viridian City Gym's exterior looked even more magnificent up close.

In fact, it almost looked like a mansion, and could have been mistook as such if the sign outside had not declared 'Viridian Gym'.

At the top of the building was the giant symbol of what appeared to be a green feather-like plant.

Excitedly, Ritsu rushed towards the entrance. "C'mon, we have to challenge that!"

But her enthusiasm was brutally murdered as she came to a stop at the Gym doors.

"What the heck?" She read the words on the small sheet of paper attached to the locked door. "The Gym is closed...? What? Why?"

"No one knows."

Beside Ritsu, a young man walked up. He was looking up at the Gym, his hands in his pockets.

"H-Huh?" Ritsu looked at the man, and distastefully observed that he had spiky hair like Aki. However, a particular facial feature that fascinated her were the man's eyes.

Or perhaps his apparent lack of them.

Indeed, the spiky-haired stranger had his eyes shut tight. But he appeared to have no problem with his vision.

"The Viridian Gym has been closed for months," he explained with a sigh. "Their Gym Leader is a mysterious one. He specializes in Ground-type Pokemon, and he's the most powerful of all the Gym Leaders."

"Eh? Seriously?"

At this, the man laughed. "Yeah. You're really clueless about all this, aren't you?" He extended a hand. "The name's Brock. I'm from Pewter City, but I'm here in Viridian for some business." He regarded her with curiosity. "The disappointed look you had earlier... were you going to challenge the Gym?"

Ritsu nodded sheepishly. "Well, yes. My ambition is to conquer every Gym in Kanto and eventually win the Indigo League."

"Hm," Brock stared at her curiously. "How long have you been a Pokemon Trainer?"

"Er... a day?"

The next thing she knew, her two Pokemon were being studied extremely closely. Brock's face was merely centimeters away from Toto, and the lizard-like creature shrank back in fear.

Brock drew his face back. "Hmm, good, good! Your Pokemon appear to be in tip top condition. They seem to really like you too. You have the potential to go far as a Trainer, I'm sure."

"Really?" Ritsu asked, her eyes shining. "Thank you, sir!"

"Anytime," her new friend nodded as he took out an Ultra Ball. "Since the Viridian Gym is closed, the next best thing to do would be to head for the next nearest city with a Gym. And that would be Pewter City."

The Ultra Ball was dropped, and out sprang a Pokemon, one that Ritsu had never seen before. It looked like a hybrid of a dinosaur and an eagle, or something similar. The Pokemon spread it's wings.

Getting on the Pokemon's back, Brock waved.

"I'll be waiting for you. See you!"

"Waiting?" Ritsu wondered what he meant. "Is he going to welcome us when we get to Pewter? Wait, the PokeDex! I gotta record that Pokemon down!" She fumbled in her bag for the device, but when she took it out, Brock and his Pokemon was already out of sight. She sighed heavily.

"Pika," Pika said, his face taking on a relaxed expression as he jumped onto her hat.

Ritsu clapped her hands together. "Ah! I'll just find that Brock guy in Pewter City, and then I'll ask him to show me that particular Pokemon again! But for now..."

She pointed into the sky, towards the direction where Brock had disappeared to, and assumed Pewter was that way.

"Onward to Pewter, and my first Gym battle!"

* * *

"Welcome to Viridian Forest...?"

Ritsu read the words on the sign aloud. "Pika?" Pika questioned her apprehensive look.

"I've got a bad feeling about this forest. It doesn't look very welcoming at all." She peered into the darkness of the forest, and looked longingly at the sun hovering above.

Once she entered the forest, the beautiful light of the sun would be blocked out by the forest trees.

Ritsu looked back at the buildings of Viridian City that she'd left behind. Taking a deep breath, she forged on ahead into the forest.

Upon entering, she was greeted by a boy with a straw hat. He wore a singlet, a pair of short shorts, carried a net, and looked no older than eight years old.

Hurrying over, Ritsu spoke first. "Hey, I know it's fun to pretend you're a Bug Catcher and all, but this forest is pretty dangerous if you don't have any Pokemon. You should go home."

"What?" The kid's friendly smile turned into a glare. "What pretend? I am a Bug Catcher, you dumb bitch!"

Taken by surprise, her shock soon flew into rage. "Who did you call a dumb bitch, you stupid baby?!"

"Bitch!"

"Baby!"

Growling, the Bug Catcher threw a Pokeball, revealing a Caterpie inside. "Alright! Since you're so adamant about how I'm a baby, I'll show you my prowess! Let's battle!"

"Fine!" Ritsu growled, taking out her PokeDex.

"Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Covered with a green skin from birth, all growing Caterpie will soon shed their skins and cover themselves with silk, becoming a cocoon as they await their final evolution."

"Stop dawdling! I'm gonna show you I'm the real deal!"

This kid was beginning to piss Ritsu off as much as Aki did. "Pika! Go!"

From her hat, Pika jumped off, ready for action.

"Caterpie, use Tackle!"

The green worm lunged forward, but the speed of the attack was about as much as a tortoise's. "Dodge!" Ritsu called, an order Pika could follow easily. "Now, strike it down with Thunderbolt!"

The Bug Catcher shrieked as his Caterpie was roasted by the powerful attack.

Gracefully, Pika did a back flip in mid-air, landing back on Ritsu's hat. Holding her nose up high, she walked over to the Bug Catcher, her palm held up.

Sobbing, the poor Bug Catcher placed 400 PokeDollars in her hand.

"That was easy."

* * *

**A really short chapter without much action, but to be honest, I meant for it to be that way. I'm really experienced at writing action, so in this story, I think I'm going to try improving on writing about interaction between human and Pokemon, which is exactly what I've been doing. Hope it didn't bore you, and you enjoyed the chapter. **

**In the next chapter, Ritsu and her party clear the Viridian Forest and finally arrive at their destination, Pewter City. Stay tuned. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Forest Wars: Beedrill vs Butterfree

**The reviews I've been getting so far have been awesome! I can't thank you guys enough. Hearing stuff as huge as "you really know how to write, good job" to even as little as "nice Brock intro" are things that really keep me going. Thanks! Also, from this chapter onward, I've decided to list the Pokemon's movesets.**

**Previously, Ritsu took a step into the Viridian Forest, and won a Pokemon battle against a Bug Catcher. What other adventures await her in this forest?**

_**Ritsu's Party  
**_**Pika, Pikachu - Level 27: ThunderShock, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team, Slam, Thunderbolt  
Toto, Charmander - Level 7: Scratch, Growl, Ember **

* * *

It appeared she had greatly underestimated the creepiness of the Viridian Forest.

Was it even a forest anymore?

No, more like a daycare.

Yes, Ritsu decided. Definitely a daycare.

Eight-year-old kids were running around, decked out in singlets and shorts, screaming and waving their bug-catching nets around.

"Just go home, kids!" She boldly shouted.

The Bug Catchers stopped in their tracks. They all turned to Ritsu, giving her the evilest glares they could muster.

Unfortunately, a glaring eight-year-old had about as much of an intimidation level as a Magikarp.

Ritsu stared them down. Wasn't it illegal for people below the age of ten to own Pokemon? She hadn't exactly been reading up on law, but she was certain there had been something like that being passed down as a legal rule a few years ago.

A few awkward seconds passed, and then the army of Bug Catchers all growled at her simultaneously.

"We're not kids!" One shouted.

Another protested. "We're real Bug Catchers!"

"Yeah, okay, just stop blocking the way so I can get through. I really need to reach Pewter City soon," Ritsu sighed. The Bug catcher army had their 'soldiers everywhere, probably attempting to search for more Caterpies to add to their Caterpie collection.

And 'everywhere' included the path she was walking through. Of course, turning back to find a different path out of the forest would be easy.

But Ritsu was far too lazy for something like that.

The Bug Catchers all shook their heads, again simultaneously. "We won't allow someone like you to pass! You've gotta defeat all of us in a Pokemon battle first!"

"Fine by me," she replied confidently. "I'm going to kick all of your sorry asses home."

This angered the Bug Catchers, and cries of rage soon followed.

"We've gotta teach this girl a lesson!"

"You think you can win against our awesome Bug Pokemon with your tiny Pikachu?"

"Bitch!"

"Come on then, we'll all take you on!"

"Enough!" A voice silenced them all. The army gasped... yes, simultaneously, and parted to reveal a boy walking up. He was decked out in the same Bug Catcher attire as everyone else, but looked considerably older. In his hand, instead of carrying a net, he had a Pokeball.

Ritsu gave him a once-over. "Um... you the leader?"

"I guess you can call me that," he nodded. "I'm Dion and I apologize for my friends' immaturity."

"Whew," Ritsu smiled. "No problem."

"But since you insulted us as well as what we do, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

"Wha?"

Dion jumped back, raising the Pokeball he was currently holding, and addressed his army of little kids. "Do not worry! I will take care of her! She will regret this day, the day she crossed paths with us, the Viridian Bug Catching Crew! Muahahaha!"

Pika face-pawed, while Ritsu face-palmed. "Damn, just when I thought I'd stumbled upon treasure by finding a Bug Catcher who wasn't an asshole."

Ignoring her, Dion threw his Pokeball, and an angry-looking brown-skinned Pokemon appeared. "Behold!"

Ritsu looked at her PokeDex immediately for information.

The trusty device came to life, and gave the Pokemon a quick scan. A picture of it appeared on the PokeDex screen, and the mechanical voice of the encyclopedia began speaking.

"Pinsir, the Stag Beetle Pokemon. With the two long pincer horns on it's head, Pinsir can crush many. Once a Pinsir grips a foe, they won't release until the enemy is torn in half."

She gagged a little at the PokeDex's vivid description. "Alright, Toto, you're up!"

Toto shuddered at the thought of battling the intimidating-looking Pokemon, but decided not to let his Trainer down, and jumped off her shoulder into the battlefield.

"I feel sorry for that poor little newt! Dion's gonna crush it!" One of the Bug Catchers yelled.

Seeing that his opponent was waiting, Dion grinned. "Since you're not attacking, I'll make the first move! Pinsir, get that Charmander with your Vice Grip!"

Pinsir charged, his pincer-like horns clanging together.

"Toto, into the air!"

Leaping up, Toto narrowly avoided Pinsir.

"Pinsir, Seismic Toss!"

An inaudible cry coming from his mouth, Dion's Pinsir jumped towards Toto, horns reaching out to grab the Charmander.

"Ember!"

The flames of Toto's attack reached Pinsir before it could grab anything, and the Bug-type crashed to the ground.

Undeterred, Dion chose to take it slow. "Pinsir, get up and use Focus Energy."

Getting back on his feet, Pinsir closed his eyes.

"We're not giving you any time to do that! Toto, once more! Ember!"

But before Toto could unleash his fiery attack, a buzzing Pokemon swooped down on them. On it's tiny arms it wielded a pair of stingers.

Yells and cries came from the Bug Catcher crowd. Dion's eyes widened. "It's a Beedrill!"

The wasp-like Pokemon's buzzing continued fiercely as it flew towards Toto. Ritsu gasped, as the Pokemon thrust one of it's stingers towards her Charmander. Fortunately, Toto jumped to the side in time.

"Ember in his face! "

"Chaaaar!"

Toto growled, and opened his mouth to release a volley of small flames, scorching the Beedrill's face and wings.

The wasp's fierce buzzing turned into sounds of agony as it tried to fly into the air. But the Ember attack took it's toll and Beedrill collapsed onto the ground.

Opening her PokeDex, Ritsu pointed it at the fallen Pokemon.

"Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokemon. Wielding poisonous stingers on it's arms and another one on it's rear, Beedrill are extremely poisonous and it would be wise to approach with caution. They are also very territorial, and usually attack in a swarm."

Pika started whispering urgently to his Trainer, and Ritsu nodded.

"Today marks the day I add a Beedrill to my overwhelming collection of Bug Pokemon! Pokeball, go!"

She looked up to see Dion throwing a Pokeball at the Beedrill, and with haste, she jumped towards it and kicked it away. The older Bug Catcher and his crew held momentary looks of surprise, but their expressions quickly turned into anger.

"What is the meaning of this? Do you wish to fight over that Beedrill?"

"No! I'm not interested in your stupid Bug Pokemon!" Ritsu yelled at him, drawing more glares from the Bug Catchers. "You're a Bug Catcher, so you should know this, right?"

She flipped her PokeDex open, revealing Beedrill's entry.

"What?"

Ritsu sighed. "Beedrill are never alone. They always attack in a swarm! Which means-"

Sounds of more buzzing filled the forest. Moments later, a swarm of Beedrill appeared, flying towards them with the intent to kill.

Cries of panic immediately passed through the entire Bug Catcher group, and they took off immediately, running with their tails between their legs.

Ritsu looked back at the Beedrill that she'd defeated, and noticed something odd. But she had to quickly break into a run as the swarm's leading Beedrill soon caught up with her.

"Pika!" She called, and Pika nodded. "Thunderbolt!"

A blast of powerful electricity struck down the Beedrill that'd been hovering beside them.

Ritsu recalled what she'd seen. The wounds and the purple patches on the Beedrill's skin... there was no doubt about it.

_We only managed to bring down that Beedrill so quickly with Toto's Ember because it was already injured from a previous battle! And it was also poisoned... Maybe it escaped from it's enemy but went on a rampage trying to find an antidote! _

She looked around the forest, and then back at the chasing Beedrill. Alarmed that they were getting closer, she forced herself to sprint faster. "Pika! Try using Thunderbolt again to take out as many of them as you can!"

"Pika!" Pika nodded, throwing more powerful electricity at the swarm, this time managing to strike down two Beedrill.

The rest of the swarm heightened their speed, and their buzzing started growing to an unbearable loudness.

"Uh oh!" Ritsu covered her ears. "I think we've made them even madder!"

"Phweee! Phweeeee!"

She looked up, to see another swarm of Pokemon. "Duck!" Ritsu yelled, diving to the ground and unintentionally sending her two Pokemon tumbling off her shoulder.

Pika rolled his eyes, pointing into the air. Ritsu turned, to see that the swarm that'd just arrived on the scene were charging towards the Beedrill, and not her.

She opened her PokeDex, pointing it up towards the butterfly Pokemon.

"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokemon. Butterfree's wings are covered with poisonous powder that it can use against enemies. This powder also repels water, giving Butterfree mobility even in the presence of rain."

"Poisonous powder?" Ritsu muttered. She looked up at the flock of Butterfree, locked in intense battle with the swarm of Beedrill. "So the Beedrill from earlier was attacked by Butterfree! But what is this...? A territorial war?"

"Pika, pika chu!"

"Char, char mander!"

Ritsu nodded, backing away. "Yeah. We should get out of here."

She turned and ran. Everywhere she looked, she could see other Pokemon of the Viridian Forest, hiding in fear from the Beedrill and Butterfree battling everywhere.

Pika growled, seemingly unhappy that his homeland had been disturbed.

Turning another corner revealed more Beedrill and Butterfree, battling wildly, neither side appearing to let up. Ritsu was about to continue on her way, but a small Pokemon in the middle of the torn battlefield caught her eye.

A green, innocent-looking worm Pokemon lied there, injured and barely alive. One of the Beedrill went for it with a purpose to kill, it's dual stingers at the ready.

Not thinking of anything else, Ritsu rushed forward, lunging for the injured Pokemon and shielding it protectively from the Beedrill. Before it could sting, Pika jumped off his Trainer's shoulder, zapping the Beedrill down with ThunderShock.

Above them, the fierce battle between the wasps and the butterflies continued. The worm Pokemon now in her arms, Ritsu beckoned for Pika to get back on her shoulder.

Pika did just that, and they hurried out of the area.

"This little guy's badly injured. We've gotta heal it up," she looked down at the worm. She'd never really seen such a Pokemon before, but was too concerned with healing it than looking up it's info on the PokeDex.

With one hand already carrying the unconscious Pokemon, another hand dug into her sling bag.

"Lessee... Potion, Potion..." She felt about for the item. Grabbing onto one, Ritsu took it out, and sprayed the medicine over the worm Pokemon.

It quickly regained consciousness, and looked around in confusion.

"Pika!" Pika grinned at the worm. Toto also began to speak, and they started conversing in their own Pokemon language while Ritsu looked on, bewildered. After awhile, the worm Pokemon nodded politely at the girl.

"Is it thanking me?" She asked curiously. "Well, anyway, you're welcome!"

The worm Pokemon made a weird, screeching noise, and started to crawl back.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't tell me you're going back to that crazy place?"

The worm Pokemon nodded reluctantly.

"Why?" Ritsu frowned. "Are you related to the Butterfree or the Beedrill somehow? That's why you feel like... you gotta help them?"

Again, the worm Pokemon nodded.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" She walked towards the worm Pokemon and knelt down, smiling at it. "You know... if you want, instead of going back, why don't you come with me?"

Cocking it's head to one side, the worm stared at Ritsu.

"Well, I'm Ritsu Tainaka, and I've got this aim of becoming the strongest Pokemon Trainer in the world, and winning the Indigo League!" She did a self-introduction, grinning broadly down at the Pokemon. "I'm going to take on all the Gyms in Kanto, and we can have a lot of fun together. At least, more fun than staying in this war-torn forest anyway..."

"Kweeee?" The worm seemed to be deep in thought. Then, it smiled and nodded.

Ritsu gently set an empty Pokeball on the grass. "Come on in."

The green Pokemon stared at the Pokeball, unsure of what to do with it. It tapped the ball with it's nose, and was slowly sucked into the capsule.

Ritsu did a little victory jig, celebrating the fact that she'd caught a new Pokemon, as Pika and Toto watched by the side - Pika shaking his head at his Trainer's bad dancing while Toto clapped in amusement.

Through the translucent surface of the Pokeball, Ritsu could make out the reluctant expression of the Pokemon, looking back at the clearing far behind them where the Beedrill and Butterfree fought.

"Don't worry," she brought the Pokeball close to her face to bring her on eye-level with the Pokemon inside.

"From now on, you've got us. Your new family."

* * *

**When I look back on this chapter, it just gives me the feeling that it was a bit rushed, but I really couldn't find anything else to write about. In the next chapter, Ritsu and her crew will make it to Pewter City.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. Don't you just hate Bug Catchers?**


	7. Arrival in Pewter: A Taste of Onix

**I was away for camp so I couldn't update in the last few days. Apologies.**

**Previously, Ritsu healed and caught herself a new Pokemon. What new adventures await her outside of the Viridian Forest, and in Pewter City?**

_**Ritsu's Party**_**  
Pika, Pikachu - Level 27: ThunderShock, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team, Slam, Thunderbolt  
Toto, Charmander - Level 9: Scratch, Growl, Ember  
Caterpie - Level 6: Tackle, String Shot **

* * *

"So you're a Caterpie, huh..." Ritsu held her PokeDex while looking up at the worm Pokemon sitting on her hat. "Come to think of it, we battled against a Bug Catcher who used a Caterpie when we entered the forest. So you're a Bug-type. Let's see... your nickname shall be..."

"Pikaaa!"

"Hm?" Ritsu looked towards Pika and Toto, who were walking on the ground beside her.

Pika pointed to the left. "Pika pi!"

As Ritsu and her Pokemon made their way towards that particular direction, the light of the sun started to cast it's glow on them.

They continued walking forward. The tall trees that surrounded them were left behind with each step, until finally, not a single tree was around to block the light from their faces.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, Ritsu looked up at the sun and shielded her eyes. "Ah, feels good to be out of that stuffy forest."

Looking up ahead, she grinned.

"I think I see lights! Come on guys!"

With her Pokemon, Ritsu sprinted on, excited to be arriving in a new city.

She arrived at the gates of Pewter City soon enough. Recalling her three Pokemon and attaching their Pokeballs to her belt, Ritsu entered the city, prepared for exploring.

_I guess the first thing I've gotta do is find the Pokemon Center for my Pokemon to rest up. I can also call Mom and tell her I've made it to Pewter. _

_But man, this city sure is huge. Where is the Pokemon Center, anyway? _

Ritsu kept walking, and finally spotted her destination. Rushing towards the familiar red-roofed building and through it's doors, she presented her three Pokeballs to the nurse, who took them with a warm smile.

"Please make yourself comfortable. Your Pokemon will be ready in about ten minutes."

"Sure," Ritsu nodded. As the nurse activated her recovery machine, the Trainer walked towards the Center's phones, and picked up one of them.

Waiting for her mother to pick up the call only took about three seconds.

"Good afternoon, Ritsu! Did you sleep well last night?" Mrs Tainaka started, her smiling face coming to life on the screen.

"Yep. I called to say I've made it to Pewter City!"

"Wow, Pewter City! Your father would have been so proud, Ritsu."

Ritsu looked at her mother questioningly. "Really?"

"No," her parent replied truthfully with a chuckle, earning herself a pout from her daughter. "It's just Pewter City, after all."

"Viridian Forest was dangerous!"

Mrs Tainaka shrugged. "Any self-respecting Trainer would be able to get out of Viridian Forest. It's not that much of a maze as people exaggerate it to be. And the wild Pokemon in there may be aggressive, but they are actually quite low-leveled..."

"Jeez, stop putting your own daughter down, Mom."

"Right, right, sorry. Anyway, you know what would really make your father proud?" On the screen, Mrs Tainaka winked at her. "Winning a Gym badge! You're in Pewter to challenge the Gym, aren't you?"

"Ah... right! I'll go challenge it right away!"

"Wait, wait, wait," her mother said calmly. "Curb your excitement, Ritsu. Do you know what the Pewter Gym is all about?"

"Well, no..."

Mrs Tainaka shook her head. "As always, you're rushing into things." She thought for a moment. "Pewter's Gym Leader specializes in Rock-type Pokemon. Aside from being Gym Leader of Pewter City, his other title is the Rock-Solid Pokemon Trainer."

Ritsu giggled. "What? That's cheesy."

"A little," Mrs Tainaka admitted with a smile. "So, what are you planning to do?"

"Um, I don't know...? Challenge the Gym, since I'm already here?"

"No, I mean, aren't you going to train- ah, never mind. Good luck, Ritsu! I'm going to hang up now. Love you."

"Love you, Mom."

Hanging up, Ritsu walked back to where the nurse was, who nodded and presented her with her three Pokeballs. Returning them back to their place on her belt, she was about to exit the Pokemon Center, but a stack of papers caught her eye.

"What are these?" She asked the nurse. "Advertisements? Flyers?"

"A map of Pewter City, actually. It's useful for visitors and tourists to navigate through the city," the nurse offered kindly. Thanking her, Ritsu took a copy, unrolling it and taking a look as she walked out of the Center.

Taking a closer look at the map, she noticed that the Gym was rather close by, in the northern direction of the Pokemon Center.

Ritsu looked up into the sky. The sun was setting, and night was approaching. Deciding to challenge the Gym tomorrow, she pulled out a lunchbox from her sling bag and tore into it. Making her way through the Viridian Forest had resulted in her skipping lunch, and she was extremely hungry.

A roar in the distance sounded as she polished her sandwich off.

_What's that? A Pokemon?_ She thought, getting up from the bench she'd been sitting on_  
_

Ritsu took off towards the direction of the roaring. A crowd of citizens had already gathered, pointing and gasping. She looked up, and her jaw hung open.

In front of her, right in the middle of the city, was a giant snake-like Pokemon with skin as tough as hard rock. The creature towered over her and the rest of the Pewter citizens.

The wild Pokemon opened it's mouth, letting out an ear-piercing scream that reduced the surrounding citizens covering their ears and on their knees.

Ritsu covered her ears as well, wincing at the move, which she deduced to be Screech.

"What's this big guy doing?" She asked.

A man beside her shook his head. "W-We don't know! He just randomly appeared from underground! This has never happened before!"

The Screech stopped, and the wild Pokemon growled at them threateningly.

Reaching for one of her Pokeballs, Ritsu threw it up into the air.

"Pika! Go!"

Her trusty Pikachu broke out of his Pokeball, leaping towards the snake Pokemon.

"Thunder Wave!"

However, the paralyzing electricity refused to pass through the rock hard skin of the wild Pokemon. With another intimidating roar, it slammed it's huge body into Pika, tackling the mouse Pokemon to the ground.

"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. A Pokemon that usually lives underground, wild Onix can rapidly travel through the ground at 50 miles per hour. As it grows, the stone portions of it's body harden and become similar to diamond."

_So it's half Ground-type... _

Ritsu looked around at the Pewter citizens, all of whom were backing away, afraid to join the fray. The Onix didn't appear to be someone else's Pokemon, but what was a wild Pokemon doing in a city?

Onix let out a loud roar, and smashed it's tail into the ground. Rocks started flying up at Pika.

"It's Rock Throw! Counter with Quick Attack!"

With steady movements, Pika dodged every single rock thrown at him, and threw himself at Onix's side. It barely scratched the rock snake.

Onix's tail rose up, hovering over Pika. "Groaaarrr!"

Alarmed, Ritsu called out. "Double Team!"

Several copies of the Pikachu started appearing, and soon, Onix was surrounded by a circle of Pikas.

Confused and frustrated, the Rock Snake looked around, attempting to determine the real McCoy. As Onix was occupied, Ritsu released the newest member of her team with a simple command. "String Shot!"

"Raaarrr?" The Onix frowned, as a thin piece of string wrapped around it's body. It glared hard at the Caterpie below him. The green caterpillar Pokemon retorted with an equally intimidating look.

"Nice job, Mushi!" Ritsu called with a broad grin. When her Caterpie looked at her curiously, she winked. "I just thought it up! Mushi! It's a cool name, isn't it?"

The newly-dubbed Mushi nodded with a smile as wide as his Trainer's.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Ritsu studied the restrained Onix carefully. _He seems really, really angry... Pokemon aren't hostile without reason, right? Maybe... maybe someone did something to provoke it? _

"Groaaarrr!"

On Onix's body, Mushi's string started to stretch. Ritsu's gaze jumped from her two Pokemon to her struggling opponent. _Looks like __I'll have to try and capture it first! _

"Pika!" She yelled, and her Pikachu nodded, ever ready. "Since Electric-type moves won't work..."

His tail glowing white, Pika extinguished his Double Team clones, and ascended into the air.

"... Aim for the eyes! Slam!"

Doing a cartwheel in mid-air, Pika's tail made contact with Onix's pair of eyes, and was rewarded with a roar of agony from the Rock Snake.

Landing on the serpentine Pokemon's nose, Pika's tail glowed again, and he repeated his earlier attack, targeting the exact same spot between the eyes of the Onix.

Two successive Slam attacks were enough to send the giant Pokemon crashing to the ground with a painful groan. Hastily grabbing a Pokeball from her sling bag, Ritsu threw it. Onix disappeared into the ball in a reddish glow.

As the people around her that'd witnessed the fight started to cheer and applaud, a particular man watched from the skies of Pewter and nodded his head in approval.

Brock patted the head of the Pokemon he was riding on. "I was going to step in, but... looks like that young girl has got it all covered. More importantly... that Onix looked like it was from Mount Moon. What's it doing all the way here?"

Loud noises in the city's northern area alerted him.

"Hm. Let's go, Aerodactyl."

Below him, the Pokemon nodded, and flew towards the direction of the sounds. Brock arrived in time to observe three men in black uniforms running out of the Pewter City Museum of Science.

"Down, Aerodactyl!" Upon it's Trainer's words, the winged Pokemon dubbed Aerodactyl swooped down towards the three men. "Ancientpower!"

From it's mouth, Aerodactyl fired a blast of tremendous energy. One of the men turned back. Reacting fast, he pulled out a Pokeball. "Golbat! Safeguard!"

"What?" Brock was taken by surprise as a transparent energy barrier formed around the newly-introduced Golbat and his Trainer. The Ancientpower attack bounced off the protective barrier and hit the Golbat owner's companions, knocking them out cold.

The man smirked. "Are you surprised? It's not everyday you meet a Golbat that can use Safeguard, after all." He bowed in mocking politeness. "And to what do I owe this pleasure, Gym Leader of Pewter City... Brock?"

Brock looked at the unconscious men that'd took the brunt of his Aerodactyl's Ancientpower. "Not a very good team player, are you?"

"No," the person in front of him admitted with an unfriendly smile. "But I don't mind. These Grunts are simply pawns, disposables that we sacrifice for the greater good of ourselves... Team Rocket!"

In the air, Brock noticed an item that he recognized on the hand of the man. "Interesting. So you riled up an Onix in Mount Moon and lured it here to Pewter City... as a distraction for sneaking into the museum and stealing a fossil specimen."

"Clever," the Team Rocket member presented the fossil in his hand. "With this Dome Fossil, Team Rocket can now revive one of the strongest ancient Pokemon in history!"

Brock pulled out an Ultra Ball.

"Say... by 'the strongest ancient Pokemon in history'... did you mean this?"

The man backed away as the Ultra Ball was thrown in his face. It opened to reveal a shellfish-resembling Pokemon. "Kabutops, Mud Shot!"

Kabutops roared, firing a gigantic ball of mud from it's mouth. It crashed into Golbat's face, knocking out the bat Pokemon in one hit.

Next, Kabutops lunged for the man himself. "Fury Cutter!"

"Urghh!" Hit by the attack, the thief collapsed, dropping the fossil in his hand. Flying forward, Brock got off his Aerodactyl, and picked up the stolen item, studying it closely to check if it'd been damaged.

"Good work, Kabutops," the Gym Leader smiled, as he gave his Pokemon a thumbs-up.

The ancient Pokemon nodded in acknowledgement, before it was recalled to it's Ultra Ball.

On the ground, the man clutched his side. It was now bleeding, and the pain was unbearable. "A-Argh... Damnit... I should have just took off when you appeared... that blasted Onix should have stalled you more! Why..."

His smile not wavering, Brock bent down. "Let's get this guy to the police."

"N-Not..." The injured Trainer took out his Pokeballs. "... if I can help it! Return, Golbat!" Aiming his next Pokeball threateningly at Brock's face to force him away, he shouted, "Weezing! Smokescreen!"

A purple, two-headed Pokemon appeared, and from it's mouth seeped smoke. Quickly jumping onto Aerodactyl, Brock commanded it to fly into the skies, avoiding the smoke.

There was no sign of the goon anywhere. When the smoke cleared, he was gone, along with the two partners-in-crime that he's insulted as simple pawns. In place of them was a large hole in the ground.

"Dig..." Brock muttered. He looked at the fossil that he'd recovered, and nodded in satisfaction to himself. "There's nothing else we can do here. Aerodactyl! We're going home."

"Aeeerooo!" Aerodactyl shrieked with approval.

As they flew, and eventually descended, Brock was thinking.

"Team Rocket... huh?"

His Aerodactyl recalled, he walked into the familiar building that he called home... publicly known as the Pewter Gym. Moving quickly to the back, Brock reached for a phone.

"Let's see what the Pokemon Association has to say."

It was a long call, and he spoke a lot. As he hung up, one of his Gym Trainers rushed into the room. He was about to ask kindly if the Trainer could bother to pour him a cup of water, but the young teenager spoke first.

"Brock! There's a Gym challenger! And he's really strong! He's breezed through every single one of our Gym's Trainers!"

Brock frowned at this. He really wanted some water, but he supposed he would have to wait.

Readying himself, he stepped up from his chair. Escorted by his Gym Trainer, Brock made a long walk from his living room to the Gym's battle arena, where at the other end stood a boy, probably no less than the age of twelve or thirteen.

"I'm Brock, the Gym Leader of Pewter City. And what might your name be?"

The spiky-haired boy raised his hand. In it was a Pokeball.

"Aki... Aki Oak."

* * *

**Didn't really like the quality of the chapter but I hope it was enough to keep you readers satisfied. I hope everyone enjoyed getting a sneak peek at Brock's Pokemon and skills. **

**In the games, I always felt that Brock was extremely underpowered. I mean, if you're a Gym Leader, why the heck would you only have a Geodude and an Onix, both of which are low-leveled as hell at that? Of course, it has to be that way since it is the first Gym. But realistically, there is no way Brock would be that weak. I'm trying to aim to be as realistic as possible for this story - thus why he has other Rock-type Pokemon, and his Pokemon is actually really strong, something that isn't present in the games. His Geodude is the weakest Gym Leader's Pokemon I have ever seen.**

**Anyway, next up on Tales of Ritsu, our lovable main character finally challenges the Pewter Gym. See you guys next time.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. An Absence: Into the Mountain

**Thanks for the constant support, _Otaku Neko Ninja Miko Tenshi_ and _pokestets23_. People like you guys are the reason why I keep writing these chapters. **

**I know in the previous chapter's preview, I wrote Ritsu was going to battle Brock this chapter. Well, change of plan.**

**Previously, Ritsu fought and caught herself a wild Onix who mysteriously appeared in Pewter City. What adventures await her beyond Pewter? Let's find out.**

_**Ritsu's Party**_**  
Pika, Pikachu - Level 27: ThunderShock, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team, Slam, Thunderbolt  
Toto, Charmander - Level 10: Scratch, Growl, Ember  
Mushi, Caterpie - Level 8: Tackle, String Shot**

* * *

Ritsu watched in awe as her Pokemon began to glow white, before taking on a different form.

Her newly-evolved Caterpie was now a green cocoon-like Pokemon. "Yay, Mushi! You evolved!" She hugged the cocoon, at the same time scanning it's data with the PokeDex.

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokemon. An evolved form of Caterpie, Metapod's shell is as hard as an iron slab and is extremely useful for defensive purposes. However, Metapod do not move about very much, as it is preparing for it's final metamorphosis."

"Final... metamorphosis?" Ritsu stared at Mushi, who looked back at her with an emotionless expression. Well, it seemed emotionless, since his eyes looked really dull. "Well, who cares about that! This is the first time I'm witnessing it! Evolution is cool!"

Recalling Mushi to his Pokeball, she looked around.

This damp, dark cave was a place she didn't want to be in.

Unfortunately, when she'd rushed to the Pewter Gym declaring her purpose to challenge it's leader, Ritsu had received some bad news.

"The Gym Leader? He's out at Mount Moon. A kid came by and defeated him yesterday! First time in a year or so that Brock's lost a match," a particular man at the Gym, who called himself a Gym Trainer, had informed her. "He's not returning anytime soon. If you really want to challenge him, you've gotta go look him up at Mount Moon. It's at the end of Route 3, you can't miss it."

And so here she was.

_What did that guy say the Leader's name was? Bob? Somehow, I feel like I've heard it somewhere before... _

Ritsu looked around the area cautiously. The kindly innkeeper managing the inn she was currently staying in had told her about the aggressive wild Pokemon that resided in Mount Moon. Apparently they were generally low-leveled but could still put up good fights.

"Bat! Bat! Bat!"

A wild Pokemon appeared, flying towards Ritsu and obviously eager to fight.

She threw one of the Pokeballs attached to her belt.

"Go, Rokko!"

An Onix burst out of her Pokeball, his roar practically shaking the entire cavern. Ritsu covered her ears as the newly-named Rokko looked around. At the same time, she brought out her PokeDex.

"Zubat, the Bat Pokemon. Despite being blind, Zubat are able to rely on their ultrasonic cries for echo location, enabling them to move around even without sight. They usually form colonies in perpetually dark places and are a common sight in dark caves."

She looked up and grinned. It was a perfect time to train her newest Pokemon and see what he could do. Looking at her PokeDex to determine the Onix's moveset, Ritsu nodded.

"Okay, Rokko, use Rock Throw!"

Rokko closed his eyes, looking away.

The wild Zubat waited, but was left hanging as it's opponent refused to move.

"Rokko?" Ritsu frowned. "What are you doing?"

Rokko glared at her before shaking his head. "Gra!"

"You... don't want to battle?" She made a wild guess, and her Onix nodded furiously, and his head nodded to a direction that led deeper into the caves of Mount Moon. "Instead... go there?"

"Bat! Bat!"

The wild Zubat flew at Rokko, attempting to force a battle out of the unwilling Onix.

"Ah! Rokko, Tackle!"

Deciding to listen this time, Rokko tackled Zubat to the ground. The Rock Snake towered over his smaller opponent, growling in annoyance.

_Whatever Rokko wants to do in this place,_ Ritsu thought. _It seems really important. _

"Alright!" She ran towards Rokko, and to his surprise, climbed onto his head. "You have something to do here in Mount Moon, don't you? I'll be by your side, so let's go."

_Maybe it's related to him showing up in Pewter? _

Rokko hesitated for a moment. He never took orders from anyone, but somehow it felt right to follow this atrocious young girl trying to bend him to her will. He started to move, leaving the defeated Zubat behind.

Ritsu looked around in awe as they moved through the cave. Aside from the hostile-looking Zubats, the rest of the wild Pokemon in Mount Moon steered clear of Rokko's way - they even seemed to worship him.

She waved her PokeDex around, recording all the Pokemon that appeared.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. Geodude are a common find in fields and mountains. Using only the power of their strong arms, Geodude can climb mountain paths without breaking a sweat."

"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon. Sandshrew commonly live in the underground where there is darkness abound. If threatened, it curls up into a ball for protection."

"Woohoo! The PokeDex is getting really filled up! It's all thanks to you, Rokko!" Ritsu patted her Onix's head with delight. "But I wonder... why do you seem like the boss of this mountain?"

Rokko chuckled.

"Wait, don't tell me you are?!"

He nodded with a small smile.

"Woah," Ritsu's eyes widened. So she'd actually caught an important Pokemon. But a burning question bugged her. "But then... why did you show up in Pewter City?"

Rokko reacted offensively, growling and roaring. She thought she'd said something wrong, but then looked ahead to see two figures running out from the darkness.

As Ritsu caught a clearer sight of them, she noticed they were both donning identical black uniforms.

"W-Why are we even running for?" One of them panted. "We've got to go back and-!"

His companion snapped at him. "Don't be crazy! None of us are any match for that Gym Leader! The only one who stands a chance is Commander Petrel! He's buying us time, so we've got to hurry."

A long shadow cast over the two men, and they looked up.

"Holy shit! A wild Onix?"

"No! Look up! There's someone riding on- hey, why are we even caring? Let's get out of here!"

But before they could progress a step further, Rokko slammed his tail on the ground, initiating Rock Throw. The rocks flew up from the ground, hitting the duo in all the right places, sending them sprawling helplessly onto the ground.

Ritsu felt herself being lowered, as Rokko went closer to the men to roar angrily in their face, his spit flying all over their faces.

"What the fuck is this Onix's problem?"

"Hey... Didn't Commander Archer lead a group to rouse an Onix from it's cave? Could it be... the same-"

Rokko raised his tail again, and this time aimed to land it on the head of the man speaking, who screamed girlishly and let out his own Pokemon. A Pokemon with an incredibly spiky back appeared, and curled itself up into a ball as it took the hit for it's Trainer.

"S-Sandslash! Poison Sting!"

The balled-up Pokemon uncurled itself, and jumped at Rokko, one of it's two claws glowing purple.

Rokko evaded the attack, simply moving to the side as Ritsu struggled with balancing herself and checking her PokeDex.

"Sandslash, the Mouse Pokemon. An evolved form of Sandshrew, Sandslash can curl into a ball to avoid enemy attacks. It is adept at attacking with the spines on it's back as well as it's sharp claws."

"Oi!" Sandslash's Trainer yelled at his partner. "Send out your Pokemon as well!"

"Huh? We're fighting?"

"How else are we supposed to get out of here?" The man replied in annoyance. "Use Slash!"

Sandslash's claws changed from purple to a shining white color. The Mouse Pokemon attacked again.

Rokko was about to attack on his own, but stopped as Ritsu shouted. "Harden!" Without wasting a second, he hardened up his body. Sandslash's claws scraped at him, but did minimal damage thanks to his diamond-like skin. "Rock Throw!" Slamming his tail on the ground again, the Onix sent rocks flying at his opponent, knocking Sandslash down.

_I don't know why Rokko wants to fight, _Ritsu thought, looking down at her Pokemon. _But if Rokko wants to fight, I will too! _

The other man got out his Pokeball and threw it to reveal... a Pokeball. Ritsu pointed her PokeDex at it, once again struggling to balance on her moving Onix.

"Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon. Bearing an uncanny and unexplained resemblance to a Pokeball, Voltorb can explode at the slightest shock. They usually reside in power plants and can zap opponents with Electric-type attacks."

"You moron! Why are you sending out an Electric-type against a Ground-type?"

"It's the only Pokemon I have! Give me a break!"

Rokko glared at the Voltorb, who seemed considerably afraid.

"Tackle, Rokko!"

Gladly obliging, Rokko dived towards Voltorb.

Sandslash's Trainer patted the other man's shoulder urgently. "Quick! Get your Voltorb to use Selfdestruct!"

"What? A-Ah, Voltorb, Selfdestruct!" As Rokko neared, Voltorb began to glow in blinding white. "Get down!" He yelled, and both men jumped back. Ritsu shielded her eyes - the last thing she saw was the injured Sandslash being recalled to his Pokeball.

Ritsu felt her body jerk downwards without a warning, and she reached out for the horn on Rokko's head for dear life. A loud boom sounded and she felt dirt splattering onto her face. Half a second later, the loud boom was replaced by a constant "vooooom".

_It feels like I'm going through some sort of tunnel... what... _

She opened her eyes, and instead of a bright white, Ritsu was greeted by darkness. She felt something in her hands. It was Rokko's horn. Looking down and squinting, she could make out the shape of her Pokemon's head.

Were they underground? It felt like it. The more they descended, the more spacious the cramped area around her became. Soon, Rokko stopped, and Ritsu had to squint her eyes again to make out that they were in some sort of underground cave.

She got her PokeDex out, hoping to use the device's electronic screen as a form of light. As she flipped it open, she found the device on Voltorb's information page.

Ritsu pressed a few buttons, and the screen fixed on information on the move Selfdestruct.

"The user blows up to inflict severe damage... blows up? Like an explosion?" She gasped. Realizing what'd happened, Ritsu smiled and stroked Rokko's rock-hard head. "So you dug us underground to evade that. Thanks for the save, Rokko."

Nodding his head, Rokko soon moved to one of the walls, and slammed his entire head through it, making a hole. "Graaa," he looked back. Ritsu understood, and held on tight to the horn.

Soon, she was moving up. Darkness overcame her again, but soon, Rokko's head burst out into the light. They were back to where they'd been earlier, but the two men had disappeared.

Before Ritsu or Rokko could say anything else, the sounds of battle alerted them. Moving toward that direction, they soon found Pokemon, locked in a fierce battle.

"Weezing, Sludge!"

"Aerodactyl, Ancientpower!"

The two Pokemon seemed almost equal in strength, with the one called Aerodactyl having a slighter upper hand. Ritsu glanced at the Trainers of the Pokemon. One of them was a weird-looking purple-haired man in a uniform, while the other was...

_Hey! It's what's-his-name, the guy, I met in Viridian! And that's the Pokemon he flew away on! _

"First going after the Pewter City Museum's fossils, and then the Clefairy on Mount Moon... what are you Team Rocket people up to?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," the one with purple hair shot back with an unfriendly smile. "Now then, all the Grunts should have cleared out by now. We didn't get a Clefairy like we wanted, but it's too bad. You fought well, Gym Leader of Pewter City... Brock."

Ritsu stared at Brock. _He's the Gym Leader?_

The man sent out a Pokemon. "Koffing!"

Brock raised his arm. "Wait!"

"Koffing, Weezing!" The man nodded at his two Pokemon. "Smokescreen!"

"Supersonic!" Brock cried, and his Aerodactyl emitted a sound wave. The Koffing and Weezing hesitated for a moment, before turning and blowing smoke onto each other in confusion. "I won't let you escape until you tell me who you guys are, and what you're after! As a Gym Leader, I will protect my city!"

_H-Holy crap! _Watching from a safe distance atop Rokko's head, Ritsu was in awe. _The way they battle... these guys are really strong!_

"Drat," the Team Rocket member recalled his Pokemon.

Brock threw an Ultra Ball. "Kabutops!"

The intimidating-looking Kabutops appeared and leaped at the man, one of it's blades hanging dangerously close to said man's face. The other blade positioned itself at it's neck.

"Ha, you aren't really doing this, are you? A Gym Leader's reputation is gonna be in deep shit if he gets someone killed..."

"You can decide yourself if I'm for real," Brock walked towards him, his Aerodactyl hovering behind. He knelt down, so he was eye-to-eye with the man. "Now, talk. Who are you?"

"..." The purple-haired Trainer kept his mouth shut, but relented soon enough.

"... Petrel... Commander Petrel... of Team Rocket...!"

He revealed a hand he'd kept hidden. In it was a Pokeball, and out of it came a pink Pokemon. It caught Kabutops off guard, skipping past it with ease. "Horn Attack!"

Seeing Nidorino going straight for him, Brock raised his arms up defensively to protect himself, an act that proved to keep the attack from being fatal, as Nidorino's horn stabbed into his wrist, drawing blood.

He cried out in pain, falling to the ground. His Kabutops looked back in alarm. Taking advantage of the distraction, Petrel kicked the Kabutops away, and escaped from captivity.

"It's unfortunate we didn't get the Clefairy, but we got this!" With a nasty grin, Petrel showed off an object in his hands. "The Moon Stone! Go, Nidorino!"

His Nidorino jumped forward, and Petrel tossed the Moon Stone to his Pokemon.

Catching the item with it's head and letting it rest on it's horn, Nidorino closed it's eyes. It started to shake, and then began to glow. Ritsu watched with her mouth wide open as the Pokemon transformed into a larger, stronger-looking evolution.

"Nidoking!" Petrel yelled. "Thrash!"

Kabutops attacked, but the newly-evolved Nidoking easily overpowered it, punching and kicking away repeatedly. As Brock's Aerodactyl readied an attack, Nidoking charged at it, knocking it to the ground and stomping on it violently.

Watching with alarm, Ritsu muttered, "He's in trouble!"

Deciding not to remain passive any longer, Rokko started moving.

Petrel turned around. "As much as I want to have more fun throwing this guy and his Pokemon around, it's best to get moving." He chuckled, looking back at the injured Brock. "They talk about how much of a good Pokemon Trainer you are, but you aren't all that much, are you, Gym Leader of Pewter?"

Brock gritted his teeth. "We can still fight! K-Kabutops!"

His Kabutops got back on it's feet. It wasn't down yet, despite being exhausted.

"That's quite enough. Nidoking, Poison Sting!"

As Kabutops tried to attack again, Petrel's Nidoking stabbed it with it's horn. The Rock-type staggered back and collapsed as the poison flowed into it's body.

"Ka... Kabutops!" Brock got back on his feet, still gripping onto his wounded left arm. "I can't... let you get away...!"

Petrel laughed. "Just rest, Gym Leader. You can't win against this Nidoking," he nodded at the purple giant. "You're a strong one, Nidoking. Too bad I've got to return you to the boss soon. Well then, let's get out of here..."

Rocks flew at him, knocking him off his feet.

"Wha-?"

Rokko emerged, roaring as it dived straight at Petrel. Jumping in front to protect him was Nidoking, taking the brunt of Rokko's Tackle with his claws.

Ritsu grabbed onto Rokko's horn, almost falling off as a result of his reckless Tackle. "R-Rokko! What are you doing?"

Her Onix seemed to have an intense hatred for people in black uniforms. Perhaps the unfashionable design irritated him - Ritsu couldn't guess.

"Don't let him escape!" Brock yelled from behind.

_What? _Ritsu couldn't resist a small sigh as Rokko geared up for battle.

_I think I just got myself into another troublesome situation... _

* * *

**As you can see, I'm delaying the Gym battle by a little bit. Our first 'boss battle' of the story should probably make up for it. **

**In the next chapter, Ritsu gets her first taste of Team Rocket, going up against Rocket Commander Petrel. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. To Fight a Rocket: Mushi Metamorphosis

**If you noticed, this story just got it's own new cover, instead of the general cover of my profile picture of Cookie Monster eating his shit. It's basically a picture I ripped off from the Internet. What, were you expecting me to illustrate my own cover? I'm a writer, not an artist. **

**I would give credit to whoever did the picture, but I kinda found it a month or two back so I've already forgotten where I got it from. Ha, sorry.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and feedback. I always read and appreciate every one.**

**Previously, Ritsu explores Mount Moon with her new Onix, Rokko, and stumbles upon Team Rocket's illegal activities in the mountain. And because of random stuff happening, she now has to do battle with a Rocket Commander! **

**_Ritsu's Party  
_****Pika, Pikachu - Level 27: ThunderShock, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team, Slam, Thunderbolt  
****Toto, Charmander - Level 10: Scratch, Growl, Ember  
****Mushi, Metapod - Level 8: Tackle, String Shot, Harden  
****Rokko, Onix - Level 25: Tackle, Screech, Bind, Rock Throw, Dig, Harden, Rage **

* * *

"I don't have any time for this, so please get out of the way."

Rokko roared at Petrel in response. "Raaaaarrrrr!"

"Rokko, Screech!"

Ritsu decided to make the first move, and her Onix's sharp cries brought the man and his Nidoking to their knees and covering their ears. _I have no idea what's going on, but for now, it seems like the correct option would be to fight. _

She checked her PokeDex, going over the moves Rokko knew.

"Okay, now, use Bind!"

Ritsu held on tight as Rokko wrapped himself around Nidoking.

Riding on her Onix while it battled was probably a bad idea, but Ritsu couldn't really find an opportunity to alight. Unless, of course, if she jumped off now, but at such a height she would probably break her neck.

"Nidoking!" As Petrel called it's name, Nidoking broke out of Rokko's Bind and jumped straight at the Rock Snake's head. "Mega Punch!" The Drill Pokemon's fist glowed, and it aimed for Rokko's chin.

Ritsu screamed, with the impact almost causing her to fall off. "A-Ah... Rokko! Are you alright?" Rokko nodded, still determined to fight on. "Okay! Now, use Rage!"

With newfound ferocity, Rokko tackled Nidoking, then again, and then again.

Nidoking fended off each attack, but the sixth time it was finally knocked off it's feet.

"Rage, a move that increases in power with each attack," Petrel noted. He nodded towards Ritsu and Rokko. "Well, for a kid, you aren't half bad as a Pokemon Trainer, I guess. Too bad you're going up against this guy!" He nodded to Nidoking. "Nidoking, Sludge Bomb!"

Nidoking opened it's mouth, firing a gigantic purple blob. The missile was too quick, and before Ritsu could even shout for Rokko to move, he'd been hit.

"Gaaarrrrr!" Rokko expressed his pain rather verbally, and started twisting about violently as the secondary effect of Sludge Bomb took it's toll.

Petrel smirked. "Your Onix has been poisoned." He pointed forward dramatically. "Now, Thrash!"

With an affirmative growl, Nidoking pounced on Rokko.

Once again, Ritsu was unable to keep a scream from escaping her throat, with Rokko acting as Nidoking's punching bag.

The attacks were ferocious, and when Nidoking backed away, Rokko could barely stand. As the two Pokemon engaged in battle glared at each other for a few seconds, Rokko eventually toppled, succumbing to the poison in his body.

Watching from the side, Brock gasped. "Ritsu!"

Atop Rokko, Ritsu shouted in surprise as she fell off. Her belt was loosened as she started her unwanted dive towards the ground. Desperately, she flailed around in mid-air, grabbing her belt as it fell off.

The waving of the belt around caused a single Pokeball on it to detach itself. The capsule opened up, revealing a green, cocoon-shaped Pokemon.

"Ahh!" Ritsu yelled. "Mushi!"

In a split second, Mushi broke apart, and a butterfly-like shape flew out of the empty cocoon, swooping towards Ritsu and picking her up with it's own tiny hands, saving her from a painful fall.

"H-Holy..." Brock muttered.

"Evolution?" Petrel stared at Mushi's newly-evolved form. "Did that Metapod break out of it's Pokeball on it's own to save it's Trainer?"

The butterfly flapped it's wings, ascending into the air while gripping tightly onto Ritsu. Flying towards Nidoking, it's bright red eyes started glowing blue.

Nidoking's entire body started to glow in blue as well. The gigantic Pokemon was lifted up, and thrown onto the ground against it's own will.

The butterfly landed on the ground carefully, and set Ritsu down, having grown tired of carrying around someone of a much heavier weight in the air.

Dumbfounded, Ritsu took a quick look at her PokeDex.

_Wait, I've seen this Pokemon before! In the Viridian Forest...! _She scrolled through her previous PokeDex entries. _There it is... it's called Butterfree, huh. So this is Mushi's final evolution? _

"Phweeee!" Mushi cried out a warning before flying into the air. Ritsu looked up, and just barely dodged a charging Nidoking in time.

"Don't let up, Nidoking! Thrash!"

"Mushi! Use that attack you were using earlier! Er, er..." Ritsu browsed through her PokeDex frantically as Mushi edged away from the pouncing Nidoking. "Confusion! Use Confusion!" Mushi's eyes glowed once more. In mid-air, the oncoming Nidoking was thrown back onto the ground.

"Curses," said Petrel, stomping his foot in anger.

Ritsu punched the air with delight. "Nice!" She grinned, looking at Mushi. "So you want to fight, huh? Okay! Let's do this!"

"Megahorn!" Recovering, Nidoking's horn shone brightly, and it jumped straight for Mushi, aiming to slice through the Butterfree with it's attack.

To Petrel's frustration, Mushi dodged with ease.

Ritsu cheered. "Good job! Secure him with String Shot!" From his mouth... or was it his snout? Mushi fired a thin string that wrapped around Nidoking, temporarily holding down the powerful Pokemon. "And now..." She glanced at her PokeDex again. "Stun Spore!"

Flapping his wings with vigor, Mushi scattered a cloud of orange powder all over the restrained Nidoking. With it's strength, it eventually tore the string apart, but was still stuck, thanks to it's new paralysis status.

"Using String Shot to keep Nidoking in place..." Petrel frowned. "... in order for Stun Spore, a low-accuracy move, to hit without any worries of missing the intended target. Very well played."

Grinning, Ritsu shot her opponent a thumbs-up. "You got it! What's more, Confusion is a Psychic-type move, and it's super effective against Nidoking, who's half Ground-type!"

The Rocket Commander's frown changed into a look of admiration and respect. "Interesting. So you had this strategy in mind from the very start. You had to weaken Nidoking with your Onix, before sending out Metapod since you knew it was going to evolve. Once it did, you executed your plan to keep paralyze Nidoking and keep it still, thus causing Nidoking to be a sitting duck for your Psychic-type attacks."

"Nope," Ritsu shook her head. "I didn't even plan for Mushi to come out at all!" She shrugged. "What's with all that talk about strategy and planning before a battle? I go into every battle wanting to win! That's my plan!"

Petrel's admiring look creased back into a frown. "Hmph. You are a child, after all. Nidoking, Thrash!"

A roar sounded and Nidoking attempted to jump forward, but as soon as it's feet left the ground, it came crashing back down, growling helplessly.

"The paralysis is taking effect!" Ritsu declared, feeling extremely victorious. "Mushi! Hit it with Confusion!"

Nidoking was lifted off the ground, and carelessly tossed towards Petrel's feet.

He sighed. "Ah, well. You've done enough. I forfeit the match." Nidoking was returned into it's Pokeball. "But that doesn't mean I surrender." Petrel promptly darted past Ritsu, taking off like a marathon runner. Before she had the time to do anything about stopping him, the Rocket member was nowhere in sight.

Ritsu was about to give chase, but stopped and wondered why she had to even bother.

"Nice work, Mushi!" She praised her newly-evolved Pokemon. Suddenly remembering Brock, Ritsu rushed over to the injured man.

Using his shirt as a makeshift bandage for his wound, Brock rested against the wall, clutching the spot where he'd been stabbed. Seeing the girl running over urgently, he smiled.

"Well, I'm fine, there's no need to-"

"I want a Gym battle!"

"What?"

Brock took a few seconds to register and process Ritsu's words, before giving her a look that screamed "are you serious"?

"I want to battle you! I've wasted enough time here fighting that Team Rocket guy or whatever! I want that badge!"

At her side, Mushi seemed to be thinking logically. "Phweee, phwee," he flew in circles above Brock's wound.

"Your Butterfree is right, you know," Brock got back on his feet. "I can't really partake in Gym battles at the moment. Anyway, that guy who just escaped is of a bigger priority. I need to inform the Pokemon Association of this-"

Ritsu pointed a Pokeball right in his face, and Brock gulped.

Her expression was the epitome of seriousness, and her eyes were hard.

The man known as the Rock-Solid Pokemon Trainer was rarely intimidated, but he couldn't help but feel small under the cold stare of a young pre-teen who was probably years younger than him.

Then things changed entirely as Ritsu's intimidating stare turned into wide puppy eyes as she begged relentlessly. "Come on, please? I really want that badge! Please please please please-"

"Enough!" Brock yelled, feeling a bit stupid. He sighed, as he kept the Ultra Ball containing his Kabutops. "Seeing as you helped me with all this, I will grant your request by battling you. It was I who led you here to Pewter City anyway." He nodded sagely at himself, as in agreeing with his own decision. "But first, I will need to go to a hospital to get a real bandage for this."

"So you'll be heading to the Pokemon Center-"

Brock's jaw hung open. "Pokemon Centers are for Pokemon! Humans have to be treated in real hospitals and clinics!" He shook his head. "Jeez, it's like you've never stepped into the outside world before."

Ritsu shrugged, recalling Mushi as they began their trek out of Mount Moon.

Looking away from his next Gym challenger, the Rock-type specialist immersed himself in his own thoughts.

_This Team Rocket... what exactly are they? What are they trying to achieve? _Brock scratched his chin. _A large organization is at work here. I was right to inform the Pokemon Association about this. _

"I see light!"

Brock nodded. "Let's go, then."

_Whatever Team Rocket is, whoever Team Rocket are, they won't get their way. _

* * *

**I actually started writing this a couple of days back, but somehow got lazy so only finished it now, unfortunately. Still, it's something. Not particularly happy with how this turned out as I feel I'm featuring too much Team Rocket than I should. **

**Next time, we'll finally be moving back to the 'going around Kanto and collecting eight badges' thing as Ritsu will be challenging the Pewter City Gym. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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